We Are All In This Together
by PeakyFookinBlinder729
Summary: Formerly Divided We Stand, Together We'll Fall. Six months after the Battle of Hogwarts, Draco finds himself in dire straits and ends up at who else than Harry Potter's doorstep? This story is about how two men must overcome their differences and past to help each other as they both still suffer bad memories of The War and what happened not long after.
1. run-in

**Chapter 1**

**. . .**

It had been nearly eight months since the war had ended, and six months since the trials. Draco had dreaded that day because a person was missing that should had been there, and just wasn't.

His mother.

It wasn't the shame of his father or being disgraced by the wizarding world that killed her, Draco had realized the day it had happened; it had been the darkness that had been creeping up on her for so many years and his father being sent to Azkaban had been the final nail in her coffin.

Draco shook his thoughts away from his mother. It always hurt to think about her now. He had done two months in Azkaban for aiding the Death Eaters, but he knew it would have been a lot longer had Harry Potter not tried to help him.

In that time in Azkaban, however, they had Oblivated him. They wanted him to forget about how he had helped the wrong side and instead planted real memories instead of fake of how many people had died _because_ of him. They implanted screams of terror and cries so that Draco would, or could, ever forget the innocent lives. Something else had gone wrong though, either they overextended the spell or were rushing through it because now Draco suffered bouts of memory loss.

There were times he would simply forget who he was, his name, his past life, the War, other people, and the memory loss sent him into panic attacks half the time. Other times he knew exactly who he was and what he had done, and then the nightmares plagued him, so it was easier not to sleep.

It was raining and Draco Malfoy was cold and wet, and he couldn't remember the last time he ate or slept. He was so tired, and he kept his hood up as he trudged into the pub in Hogsmeade and sat down on a stool.

He kept his head down as he gruffly ordered a firewhiskey. He needed something to help stop the cries in his head; usually alcohol did the trick.

Draco had almost finished his drink when he heard the sound of a familiar voice in the pub.

"Two whiskeys, please."

Draco knew that voice anywhere, even with memory gaps. Harry fucking Potter, of course it was, though. He kept his head low, his hands trembling as he tried to hold his glass still. He made sure his Mark was covered.

"How goes the Death Eater hunting, Mr. Potter?"

A beat of silence before he saw Harry slowly look up at the bartender out of the corner of his eye. "I wouldn't know. I quit being an Auror months ago."

There was no other questions from the bartender; he just nodded in acknowledgement and began to serve someone else. Draco cringed as he tried to get comfortable on the bar stool, feeling his bruises twinge with pain.

" 'Scuse me, mister," a gruff voice suddenly spoke, near Draco. "I ain't ever seen you in 'ere. My god, are you… you look an awful like that Malfoy son -"

"He's not," Harry's voice suddenly interrupted the man. "He's my friend. Now, please let us drink our drinks in peace now, yeah?"

Draco watched as the man eyed him suspiciously before walking away again. He tensed, unable to relax. Never able to relax anymore. Harry had helped him. He _knew_ who he was.

"You look like you've seen better days," Harry whispered as he sipped his whiskey.

Draco turned to look at him, a part of his hood still blocking his face, but he could see Harry didn't look so perfect anymore; there was a thin white scar that curved down his cheek to from under his eye to his jaw.

"I could say the same about you too," Draco tiredly drawled, sighing softly as he finished his whiskey.

The two men sat in a silence for a long time, Harry finishing his drink and then motioned for Draco to follow him out. The blonde was hesitant to do so at first but figured maybe this was for the best; maybe he could stop walking on this earth like a skeleton and finally be where he truly belonged, _in_ the earth.

The thought of his own death had crossed his mind many times; he couldn't deny it. He had so much guilt inside of him that he felt like he might burst with it. He felt like screaming, like the voices he was cursed to hear now.

He followed Harry out and started feeling anxious when he realized he had led Draco into an alleyway between two buildings.

"Are you going to kill me now, Potter?" Draco asked softly, no sign of hatred or contempt in his voice.

"No," Harry shook his head. "You heard me in there, I don't hunt Death Eaters anymore. You're no exception, Malfoy."

Draco nodded, wanting to feel relief, but instead was met only with disappointment. He held his sleeves over his hands awkwardly, using his one arm to hug his body, trying to hold himself together.

He suddenly saw worry touch Harry's eyes. "Are… are you hurt?"

Draco nodded. "It's nothing you should worry about. I deserved what I got."

Harry looked around and seeing that the street was becoming busier, he turned back to Draco. "I have a flat not far from here. Come back home with me. I'll take a look at it."

"Still the hero, after all our years together," Draco half whispered.

"I guess it's a habit I find difficult to break," the other man shrugged, eyeing the ex-Slytherin's body carefully to see if he was hurt anywhere else but he couldn't tell. "So… will you?"

Draco sighed heavily, looking around in the dark, almost paranoid. He looked back at Harry and searched his face before he shook his head finally in answer.

"Why not?"

He looked conflicted, like he wanted to say something other than what he was about to say, which in true Malfoy fashion, would not be very nice, and Harry wasn't disappointed.

"Because I just _can't_! You don't get to have answers anymore, Potter. That's your problem; you were spoiled in school with them… you had all the bloody answers to everything well, guess what? School's over, the war's over, and you don't get to have answers anymore," Draco declared, nearly spitting with an anger that Harry couldn't understand completely.

It was evident that Draco was talking about more than just some answers, but Harry had put himself out there to help Draco and was returned with ungratefulness. He just felt eager to rid himself of Draco now.

"Fine, whatever, Malfoy. Before I leave you to do whatever you're going to do next, a few words… I don't have all the answers, I never did! I've always been left with more questions, and I still am! School may be over, but the true war is not, and not you nor anyone else is going to be able to convince me otherwise."

Harry turned around and walked away from Draco, leaving him standing alone in the alleyway to head back to his own flat.

The blonde ran his hand through his hair before spitting on the ground where Harry had been and took a last look around before he started down the street, avoiding the streetlamps. His problem since the war had ended was that he had let himself be seen by too many people, mostly Death Eaters who blamed Draco for their loss, or blamed him for something else that he never knew about.

He held himself together with one arm still as he walked before he started towards the abandoned flat he had been staying at. It had been on the verge of collapse, windows broken, and filled with many unsavory folk, but it was still a roof over his head, and that's what he needed the most right now. Despite wanting to go back to the Manor for a few sentimental belongings, he refrained. He knew it was too dangerous for him to go back there, so he went from shitty house to shitty house, trying to stay out of the elements and away from rogue Death Eaters that wanted to kill him.

He crept into one of the empty rooms and closed and locked the door behind him, walking over to the dirty comforter on the floor and lay down, using his good arm as a pillow before he moved his legs close to his body to keep as much warmth as he could, closing his eyes in exhaustion.

…**.. .. …**

Draco woke up to the sound of yelling sometime in the middle of the night, but he wasn't sure exactly what time it was; the sun wasn't yet up so it had to be late.

He heard screams and sick laughter and then his door was kicked open, the weak lock on it instantly shattering to the floor. He stood up as quickly as his ribs would allow him and took a step back, watching as a familiar face started to walk towards him.

"Draco Malfoy," he greeted in satisfaction. "It's been too long, don't you think?"

He didn't think he was sure of that. "Actually, I don't think it's been long enough, Blaise. What brings you here?"

The other man looked at him darkly, his wand in his hand. Draco eyed the wand cautiously, wondering if this was the end of the line for him. He felt nauseous at the thought that he almost welcomed it, if it was.

"I'm here for you, actually. There's a new Death Eater in charge now, Draco, and you've been summoned. Why don't you come and join us?"

His blood turned to ice in his veins now, his instincts suddenly screaming at him to run, as fast as he could away from Zabini. He swallowed hard, trying to plant his feet firmly in place on the floor, his heart racing frantically.

"I'm not sure if I want to join you, Blaise," Draco answered coolly. "I think I'd prefer to just be on my own for now."

Blaise smirked now and took a step towards his ex-friend. "It's rather dangerous to be a Death Eater and alone these days. It's safer to be in a group. We can protect each other from outside threats."

Draco tongued his lip that had been cut last week when he had been jumped and beaten to a pulp. He was still healing, and it didn't go over his head that Blaise was threatening him rather than inviting him. Being along _was_ dangerous, and both of them knew it, but it was rogue Death Eaters like Blaise that were the danger.

"I'm good where I am," Draco stated firmly. "As far as I can see, _you're _the only outside threat."

Blaise chuckled coldly now before he shook his head, taking another step towards Draco. This made the other man instinctively take a step towards the door. "Ah ah ah," he said warningly, still smirking, "Don't make this harder for you than it already is."

He then ran at Draco, slamming him against the wall hard, and punched him, once… twice… three times.

_Damn it._ The cut on his lip had opened back up again, and now he felt warm blood making trails out of his nostrils and down to his lips as pain shot through his nose. He coughed as he tasted the blood in his throat before he spit it out at Blaise.

"You fucking prick!" The other man cursed before Draco made a dash for the door, causing Blaise to lift his wand up and then he turned around to face the hallway.

"Imperio!" yelled Blaise as a shot of yellow light narrowly missed Draco's legs.

He ran, and then he ran some more, scrambling down the stairs as he made it outside in the cold again. The streetlights were dimmed even more than before, and he suspected that had been Blaise's doing. He ran in between buildings, through alleyways, over fences and gates until he had to lean up against the back of a brick wall to catch his breath, his lungs burning red hot with panic and pain.

He could still hear footsteps near him, and then he heard Blaise's voice.

"Draco… don't be thick. You can't hide forever! We'll find you eventually, and when we do, we're going to burn down your world, and everyone in it…"

Draco closed his eyes, pressing himself harder against the building. He heard his heartbeat in his ears and didn't dare move until he heard the footsteps start off in another direction. He took this opportunity to hurry down the alleyway, jumping over another gate before he started to look for another place to hide.

He looked around and saw a light in one of the windows in a flat nearby; he might be safe there. Draco hurried over to the house and tried the knob but found out it was locked.

"Shit…" he sighed before he decided to try his luck. Death Eaters probably wouldn't have a light in their windows. They did their best to keep a low profile if they could help it. Draco knocked on the door quickly, but as quietly as he could.

He glanced around again just as the door opened and shock swallowed him whole. His eyes widened almost pleadingly as he found himself staring into Harry's eyes.

"H-Help me…" he nearly whimpered.


	2. one day at a time

**Chapter 2**

**. . .**

Draco knew he had no right to ask Harry for help; he had been reminded several times what side he was supposed to be on, and it was always against him. Now he stood in front of this man, who was looking at a loss for words but nonetheless, moved out of the way quickly to let Draco inside, and then closed and locked the door behind the blonde.

Harry's green eyes cast Draco up and down before he cleared his throat to collect himself, seemingly unsure where to start. There was something else behind his eyes though, maybe suspicion? Either way that was fine since Draco didn't know if he could completely trust Harry either.

"Right, so… we should probably get you injuries taken cared of before anything else. Umm… follow me," Harry instructed as he led Draco through he small flat and into the bathroom where he motioned for Draco to take off his shirt.

At first the other man was taken back but realized what was happening and gingerly took off his shirt. He looked away; he didn't need to see the disgust at Draco's many scars that littered his body from curses, beatings, and punishments. He knew what was there.

He watched apprehensively as Harry started to take care of his immediate, bleeding wounds on his back and chest before he looked eye level at Draco and took out his wand. Instinctively, Draco took a frightened step back, flinching but not going for his wand.

The reaction made Harry stare at him with a sort of pity in his eyes. "I-It's all right, Malfoy. I'm… I'm just going to fix your broken nose, yeah?" He searched his grey, stormy eyes and saw the fear slowly disappear from them and he raised his wand once again, remembering the incantation Luna had used on him when this very man had broken his nose only a few years ago. "Episkey…"

Draco groaned as the bones in his nose quickly healed themselves, snapping back into place again. Draco coughed a little bit and the small amount of coughing snowballed into a long coughing fit. He soon found himself doubling over now, making sure to get himself near the sink as small flecks of blood stained the porcelain as well as Draco's alabaster chin.

Harry's body tensed up. "We… we need to get you to St. Mungos."

"N-No," Draco shook his head, coughing a little bit more before letting out a small wheeze. "No h-hospital…"

Harry didn't need to ask why not, and the answer seemed to hang in the air heavy between them; the undeniable reality that many people still saw the Malfoy name as a blight on their worlds, a threat, something disgusting and unacceptable. There was the very real possibility that if Harry did take him to St. Mungos, they either would choose not to help heal Draco, or Death Eaters still loyal to Voldemort would kill him for being a traitor.

"Right," Harry sighed, thinking. Then they both heard a noise from upstairs. Draco tensed again, ready to run out of the flat but Harry put out his arm, signaling for him to stop. "Wait, it's all right. I know who that is. Just… stay right here, okay? I'll be right back."

"I-I should go," Draco stammered, feeling flight taking over fight, afraid that this thing had been a trick and coming here was a huge mistake. Maybe Harry had lied before and he still was working as an Auror.

Harry seemed to be able to read his mind because he turned his entire body to face Draco and seeing the terror in the man's eyes made his own soften.

"I promise you're safe here, Draco. I just want to help you, I swear. Please… just stay right here, yeah? I'll be right back," he magicked a glass of water into his hand before he handed it to Draco and disappeared out of the room.

Draco took a sip of water and suddenly realized how thirsty he actually was. He couldn't remember the last time he even had a glass of cold water. He started to foolishly drink it all down quickly in one go, which proved to be a mistake because he started coughing and wheezing, spitting the water into the sink.

He gripped the sides of the sink with his fingers tightly as he coughed, his heart hammering in his chest at the amount of crimson that came up and soon his lungs weren't working anymore. He sunk to his knees, tears in his eyes as he gasped for air.

"Draco!"

He saw Harry on the tiled floor in front of him through his tears but the corners of his eyes were becoming dark with spots and he could feel himself quickly starting to lose consciousness.

"Calm down, Harry," a female voice echoed in Draco's head. "It's going to be all right. Draco… Draco, can you hear me?"

The blonde was having difficulty pinpointing who the voice belonged to but it sounded soothing so he nodded.

"Okay, we need you to lay down, okay? Harry, please grab a towel and lay it behind him," she instructed. Once he had done so, Draco laid down on his back on top of it, and suddenly, the world went away and everything went black.

…**.. … …..**

****When Draco woke up, he coughed a little but it quickly subsided and he realized that he could breathe better than before. He jumped now, looking around as he attempted to remember where he was.

_He was at Harry's flat near Hogsmeade. _

He took a deep breath, savoring the amount of oxygen pumping through his lungs again. He looked outside and saw the sun just coming up. He had been asleep for a while.

"Oh good, you're awake. Mind if I ask you a few questions, Malfoy?" Harry's voice was kind, but serious.

Draco shook his head. If it meant that he had a safe place to stay away from Death Eaters, then he felt like he would answer anything Harry asked him. He ran his hands through his hair before cringing; he never truly cared about how his hair looked but feeling the dirt and oil in it was enough to put him off.

"You can use my shower after you answer some things for me first, okay?" Draco nodded, not trusting his voice just yet. "Good. So… Hermione told me your lungs were punctured. Do you have any idea what happened?"

Draco tried to think back to the day when it had happened, and he remembered the pain so violently, that it almost made him want to cough again. It wasn't that he hadn't felt the sharp, cold pain from it, but he had been focused more on hiding and getting away from enemies that he didn't let himself think about it.

"It was about… four days ago?" Draco questioned to himself in thought. "I… I was trying to get away from someone and he threw a curse at me, but I rolled out of the way and hit the wall pretty hard. I guess it's been a busy few days, I didn't think much of it."

He despised himself for being so talkative.

_You can't trust him. He could still be an Auror, no matter what he says. _

"Sounds like you've been keeping busy. What have you been doing this whole time, Malfoy? Just… jumping around from place to place?"

Draco sighed, straightening up in bed now so he was in a sitting position. He rubbed his eyes but was quiet now, afraid to rat himself out to him. He looked at Harry unsurely before he looked down at his slender hands.

_Merlin, when was the last time he even ate anything?_

Harry saw him shutting down and he sighed softly but turned to him, deciding to try a different question. "Do… do you still have it?"

Draco looked at him and searched Harry's eyes before he pushed his sleeve up that covered the entangled snake on his forearm. "Still there."

Harry looked down at it, quiet for a long time before he stood up and suddenly looked conflicted. His calm demeanor changed and there was an almost angry panic on his face. Draco blinked, his emotions soon reflecting Harry's.

"Did you expect it to be gone, Potter? Don't think I haven't tried…"

This rhetorical answer made Harry do a double take now and he stopped pacing before he looked down at him. "What? What do you mean? You've tried to take the Dark Mark off? How?"

Draco sighed heavily before he lifted his forearm up. "I've tried spells to make it disappear but… it came right back again."

"That's completely and utter bollocks, Draco. You really think I'm going to believe you tried spells to get rid of it? You're still so full of it, after all these years."

That made the blonde ex-Slytherin quickly jump to defensive mode, suddenly feeling anger build up inside of him. He stood up, squaring up to Harry now and narrowed his eyes as he set his jaw. "No, Potter. _You're_ the one still full of shit. Why the fuck would I want to keep this forsaken Mark on my skin? Do you think I'm proud of it or something? _That_ would be bollocks, because I'm fucking not!"

"Yeah, sure. Whatever you say. I don't know why I'm still letting you even stay here! You're a bloody Death Eater, just like you're good-for-nothing father! Things didn't end too well for him, and from what I understand, not too well for your mum either…"

Draco clenched his hands into tight fists. "You can talk shit about my father but don't you dare say a fucking word against my mother, Potter."

"Why shouldn't I? Your whole family area bunch of low-life Death Eaters who kissed Voldemort's arse for too long and paid the price for it!"

Before Draco knew what he was even doing, he felt his fist collide with Harry's face and then felt Harry grab his shirt and pin him hard to the wall. He tried to struggle against Harry's hold on him, but his weak body still wasn't strong enough to fight against him and he found himself already exhausted by the struggle.

"Harry! Let go of him right now!"

Her voice made all the fight leave Draco's body when he saw her. Her hair was shorter, but her curls still dangled past her shoulders. She looked a bit smaller and the dark circles under her eyes made his stomach clench with uneasiness, but it was definitely Hermione Granger.

Harry reluctantly did let go of Draco and turned to look at her, breathing raggedly as he tried to calm down, running a hand through his hair. "We can't keep him here, Hermione… he's still the same as he always has been."

He had turned back and looked at Draco, but he was talking to her. For not having said a single word to Harry since Merlin knows when, his words had cut Draco close to his heart. He just shook his head, unable to help but glance over at Hermione.

"You can't just throw him back on the streets, Harry. You know that he's in danger now more than ever. He still needs time to heal, get stronger," she insisted, appearing to ignore Draco's presence as she talked to Harry.

Harry had a hand still against Draco's throat, but he released it reluctantly before he gave a frustrated huff and took a step away from him.

"Fine. Go take a shower, Malfoy. Then… do whatever you want." He walked out of the room, leaving Hermione and Draco alone.

A heavy silence filled the room and Draco swallowed hard, unsure what to say to her. The last time he had seen her, he had been forced to listen to her screams of pain as Bellatrix scarred her arm up with a spiteful name that Draco himself never used again since. It made sick to remember that night.

She took a cautious step towards him. "He just needs time… to take all this in. He'll come around," she said in a soft voice. "I healed your punctured lung for you. You also had a fractured rib, and… I healed that as well."

Draco wet his lips, this whole conversation feeling surreal, having so many questions that he wanted to ask.

"Why? Why are you helping me? I… I haven't done anything to deserve it."

She searched his face. "I was at the trails with Harry… I could see it in your eyes, the regret, the pain. I could see that you're suffering, the same as us. We're all adults now, Draco. I believe it's time we start acting and treating each other as such. I think… sometimes Harry forgets we're not in school anymore. Our past doesn't matter. It's what we do right now that matters."

Draco nodded in agreement and gratefulness. He wanted to say so much more to her, but he found his words failing him. He was in awe at her forgiveness, at her acceptance of him being there. "Well, thank you."

She gave him a weak smile before nodding. "Go ahead and shower. Then, come eat something." She didn't wait for his answer before she walked out.

Draco let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding. He headed back to the bathroom and closed the door before stripping off his clothes and then hopping in the shower. He washed his body, letting the hot water relax his nerves and clean the grime and grit off of him. Draco stayed in there probably longer than he deserved to, unsure when the next time he'd be able to shower again would be.

Once he had finished, he shut the water off and dried himself off before taking a look at his body in the mirror.

Scars littered his body and he was reminded once again how revolting he was. He diverted his eyes and he only just realized there was a set of pajama bottoms and a shirt on the toilet; Hermione must have snuck in and left it there for him.

He put the clothes on, ignoring how everything hung off his body. He stepped out of the bathroom and walked towards the kitchen, smelling sweet and savory smells coming from it. Draco froze when he saw Harry tense up as he entered and quickly took a seat on the end of the table, feeling like an intruder.

Hermione placed a cup of hot coffee down in front of Draco before setting two plates of food in front of both men before speaking again.

"I'm going back upstairs so… behave yourself, Harry," she warned before giving him a small smirk and headed upstairs.

Draco sipped the coffee tentatively, letting it warm up his cold bones. He was starving as well, but he felt weird eating in front of Harry. He cleared his throat. "Do you mind if I ask a question?"

"I suppose not," the other man shrugged, taking a bite of his pancakes.

"How long have you two been living here together?" Draco asked, genuinely curious. It didn't surprise him that they were both living together, but it did surprise him that Ginny and Ron Weasley were both nowhere to be seen.

"Not that it's any of your business, but we've been living here since the War ended. We were both alone, and it was convenient that we lived together."

"What about the Weasleys? Weren't you both with one?" Draco dared to ask, taking another sip of coffee. He immediately regretted asking when he saw Harry's face pale, and a part of him felt the need to apologize automatically. "Fuck, I'm… sorry. That's also none of my business. Forget I asked."

Harry looked surprised at Draco's apology but seemed to relax slightly, the tension in the room easing up a bit. He scratched his cheek. "Umm… i-it's fine. Hermione and I sort of… grew apart from them, I suppose. Turned out they were both emotionally and mentally stronger than the two of us but… they just couldn't help us. They both got frustrated, and… they left. Then it was just… the two of us and we grew closer."

Draco nodded as he listened to Harry. "That… that must've been difficult for you, Potter."

"Yeah," he cleared his throat. "It was, for a long time… but… we had each other, and life somehow seems a little easier for us now without them."

Draco took another sip of coffee. "I… I can kind of relate to that, not having someone in my life and feeling better off without them."

Harry looked up at him finally, searching his face again. "Your father…?"

Draco thought back to their fight earlier, trying to forget the fact that Harry had made those comments about his father, but it made sense that that would be the one that Draco wanted to be without; he was rather close to his Narcissa.

The blonde nodded. "Y-Yeah. It took me a long time, but… I woke up and realized just how fucking toxic he was and somehow all the abuse over the years made sense to me. All that shit he drilled into my head every day made sense, and… it made me despise him."

Harry appeared to relax more now and guilt touched his eyes. "I'm sorry about what I said earlier about him. You seem like you had a tough relationship with Lucius and… I didn't even realize."

Draco looked at him, giving him a hard stare. "You didn't… but maybe you should also realize that you don't know me as well as you think you do, Potter. I'm not the same person as I was in school anymore. I'm different now…"

"We'll see about that, Draco. Let's just… take this one day at a time, yeah?" Harry asked. There wasn't such a sharp anger to his voice this time as there was before, just caution.

Draco nodded and started to eat.


	3. proof

**Chapter 3**

**. . .**

Draco felt the need to walk on eggshells around Harry. This man held the power to choose to keep Draco safe and warm or kick him out into the cold where he'd be up for grabs for Death Eaters. Given the choice between the two options, he much preferred the former.

Especially now when the sun had gone down and it was getting later and later. He could already feel the panic begin to set in. He had seen Hermione go upstairs to her room about an hour ago, and Harry had set up a pillow and blankets on the sofa for Draco before he also started a fire, much to his surprise.

He tried to relax as he tossed and turned, closing his eyes as he attempted to fall asleep. He was warm, but comfortably so, so he stubbornly continued to switch sides continuously until it was at least ten. He found relief when he felt himself fall into sleep finally.

"_You think you're worth anything, Draco? You're not. We know where your loyalties lie, and it's not with Voldemort's side,"_

_He felt like his legs were frozen and his heart was hammering hard inside his chest as he looked out of the closet blinds at Zabini who was looking around the room._

"_You're a coward… that's why you're hiding in a fucking closet. Come out, come out, wherever you are, and I'll tell them not to kill you."_

_Draco tried to hold his breath as Blaise walked closer to the closet door and even put his hands over his mouth to stop himself from making any noise. It was hopeless though because of course Blaise was smart enough to open the closet doors, smirking sickly when he saw Draco. _

_The next thing he knew, he was screaming in excruciating pain on his knees as hot fire shot through his back as they burned a T into his skin. When it was all over, he fell over, whimpering pathetically as he forced himself not to cry. _

_The pain felt so real._

_So real._

_Too real._

Draco gasped and let out a cry as he woke up, breathing heavily as his face was covered in a thin later of sweat. He looked around, taking in his surroundings and swearing that he could feel the pain still. He ran his hands through his hair and rubbed his eyes, resigned to not getting any sleep.

He stood up and thought about getting some water, but he really wasn't thirsty. _He was terrified, more than anything. _

Logically he had nothing to be afraid of; the front door was locked, and he wasn't going to freeze to death or be jumped tonight. Of course Draco's mind just wouldn't let up.

He wouldn't be able to go back to sleep. He didn't know what he thought he was going to do but he grabbed the large, fluffy blanket off the couch, wrapped it around himself and quietly headed upstairs. He didn't want to wake either of them up, but he also knew he didn't want to be alone right now.

Draco stood outside Harry's door and lifted up his hand to knock on it gently, but then thought better of it, and retracted his hand back down to his side. He didn't want to get on Harry's bad side already and risk being thrown back outside.

Instead, he hugged the blanket around him and slid down against the wall near the door, resting his head against it. He breathed in, and out, and just the thought that Harry was sleeping only a few feet away from him helped his mind to settle down again and he soon drifted off to sleep again.

**…. … …..**

"Malfoy, hey… wake up,"

Draco felt a hand shake him gently and he lifted his head up sharply, instantly feeling a dull ache in his neck from his poor sleeping position. He blinked several times, sleepily rubbing his eyes with the blanket still tightly wrapped around his body with his knees tucked into himself.

"Hey, good morning. What are you doing up here? Are you sleepwalking now?" His tone wasn't cold but merely curious.

Draco shrugged and took another deep breath before he looked at Harry, who he realized looked just as tired as him. "Couldn't sleep."

Before Harry could say anything, they both saw a sleepy-looking Hermione appear from the room opposite, look between the two men, before she headed down the hall and disappeared down the stairs. Draco looked at Harry questioningly, but Harry didn't acknowledge the elephant in the flat.

"Come on… let's go downstairs and get some coffee," Harry held out his hand to help Draco up. The gesture took the blonde by surprise, but he reached out of his blanket and grabbed it before being pulled up onto his feet by Harry.

He felt something electric shoot through their hands but if Harry felt it too, he didn't let on. He just looked at Draco expectantly, but then a thought crossed Draco's mind, and he didn't care to ask it in front of Hermione.

"Err… if you two are together, why… why aren't you sleeping in the same room?"

Harry gave a slight grimace and rubbed the back of his neck in thought before he looked back at Draco. "It's sort of complicated, Malfoy, and… personal."

There was a finality in his tone that signaled that it was the end of that particular discussion, so Draco just nodded in half-understanding before he let it drop, and let Harry lead them downstairs into the kitchen. He was more than curious, of course, but he also wasn't stupid; he knew that he needed to prove himself trustworthy first or else he'd end up in Death Eater hands, so he kept his mouth shut.

In school, he was more likely than not to push Harry's buttons, as well as those of his friends, but years had passed since then, times had changed, and everyone was still war-torn. Draco liked to believe he had matured a lot since those school years together anyway.

He poured himself some coffee and sat down at the table, next to Harry and looked across at Hermione who was sipping her coffee as well and reading the Daily Prophet quietly. Draco couldn't believe how she could look the same and different at the same time. He glazed over her features. Her body was a lot thinner, most likely from emaciation or lack of appetite. It looked unhealthy, but not yet dangerously so. It brought him more worry than disgust; sure, he had bullied her a fair share in school, but again, things had changed since then.

He also noticed scars on her forearms, more than just _Mudblood_ that Beatrix had cursed her with, though. Now that he was closer, he also noticed than there were raised scars on her forearms as well that went vertical.

Draco must have been looking at her for too long because he felt a sharp kick under the table and glanced over at Harry who was looking at him pointedly. The blonde cleared his throat and gave an apologetic nod of understanding before he focused instead on his coffee.

"How long have you been out there for, Draco?" Hermione's soft voice suddenly asked from across the table.

He thought back and held the mug in both his hands, warming them up. "Probably since…" He swallowed hard, unsure if he wanted to say anything at all, but he knew he had to give some answer. "Since my mother passed."

"Oh," she gave what he supposed was a sympathetic smile. "Right, I'm… I'm sorry. That must have been difficult for you. I do remember seeing her obituary in the paper now. It didn't say how she died, though. I mean… if you don't mind me asking…?"

"Hermione," Harry suddenly intervened, a gentle warning in his voice as he looked between Draco and her now. "Maybe it's not the most appropriate question to ask, especially at breakfast?"

She glanced over at Harry as if she were looking right through him before she suddenly turned sheepishly back to Draco and her brows creased together, as if in confusion. She shook her head and looked embarrassed now.

"R-Right, forgive me, Draco. H-Harry's right… I shouldn't have asked that. Sometimes I just… forget myself."

Draco waved dismissively and gave a weak chuckle to ease the tension. "It's fine. I mean… thanks, but… he's right; it's not really something I want to talk about."

She nodded and gave a small smile before returning to her paper. Draco looked over at Harry who was looking somewhat uncomfortable now. The two men sat in a tense silence for several minutes before Hermione suddenly stood up so sharply that her chair toppled over.

"U-Umm… p-please excuse me… I suddenly don't feel well," she hurried upstairs, and they heard a door slam closed.

Draco raised an eyebrow in confusion and as if he were reading his mind, Harry stood up slowly and walked over to the paper, scanning it to see what could have caused Hermione so much distress. He tensed suddenly as his eyes landed upon the article and he ran a hand through his hair.

"What is it?" Draco asked softly.

Harry sighed heavily. "Susan Bones was murdered, by Death Eaters yesterday." His tone was thick with anger, but he somehow kept it in check. He looked over at Draco, his eyes lingering on the Dark Mark for too long before he forced himself to look away.

Draco felt himself shrink under Harry's gaze and he somehow felt responsible. He felt like _he _had been the one who had killed her, which of course was ridiculous. He barely knew her, only _of her. _He didn't know her last known location where she had been living, but somehow this felt like his fault.

"Does… it say who killed her?"

Harry gave Draco a sharp look now and scoffed. "Does it really matter who killed her, Malfoy? She's dead! She's dead because of –ʺ He stopped himself and paced slowly in the kitchen, biting his tongue.

He felt guilt be pushed into him some more and he forced himself to meet Harry's eyes. "What? Say what you were going to say, Potter. She was killed because of what?" He challenged him.

Harry narrowed his eyes but they just looked tired. "Because of what you are. Because of _your_ kind… _your_ family! _Your_ prejudice."

The words felt like Harry had said a curse that made tiny knives stab Draco's chest repeatedly. He wasn't surprised to hear this come from Harry; after all, they had spent years hating each other. Why should they stop now? He swallowed hard and realized that he would have to make a case for himself now.

He let the blanket drop from his shoulders and he stood up. "These Death Eaters aren't my family, Potter. They're not… _my _kind anymore, and I promise you that I sure as hell don't hold those prejudices against half-bloods anymore. They're not my people."

"That's such a load of bollocks," Harry shook his head and then let out a humorless laugh. "It's funnier that you actually believe the words coming out of your mouth. All those years of bullying Hermione because of what she was, and… now this? It's too perfect… it really is!"

"What, you think I had something to do with her death?" Draco asked in disbelief, panic edging into his chest. "I was here! It's not like I'm 'in' with the Death Eaters anymore, Potter! I never even talk to my father! I'm not a part of them anymore!"

"You're so full of it, Malfoy…" Harry spoke almost in disgust. "Prove it. Prove that you're not in with them still."

Draco's head started to spin, and he felt nauseous. "Why do you think I came here looking for sanctuary? It sure as hell wasn't because I wanted to party with you! They're after me too!"

"Why?" Harry questioned; his jaw tight. "Why would they be after you? Your family was close to them! They were close to Voldemort!"

"I don't believe in any of that shit anymore!" Draco insisted. "I've tried to burn this fucking thing off my arm! I hate it! Why would I do that if I wanted to still be one?"

Harry didn't have any answer to this but he also wasn't showing any signs of believing Draco either. The blonde bit his lip nervously and took off his shirt. The gesture surprised Harry so much so that he raised his wand quickly.

Draco put his hands up and then turned around before he knelt down on the linoleum floor in a goodwill gesture of surrender and submission, his hands still raised. He felt Harry's fingers trace over the large _T_ scar on his back now, suddenly a shiver down Draco's spine at the touch of Harry's finger on his bare skin.

He could feel Harry's eyes scanning his back at the rest of the battle scars he had endured, obvious that he had missed them completely yesterday.

"What does the T stand for?"

Draco swallowed hard. "Traitor," he said quietly. "It stands for traitor."

There was a long silence again and then he felt Harry's fingers tracing the other scars on his back. He shivered, not having felt such a gentle touch in so long that it almost made him want to cry, but he controlled himself.

He then felt Harry gently grab his arm and help him back to his feet. "You can put your hands down now… I believe you."

Draco turned around and then put his shirt back on, feeling a chill raising goosebumps on his skin. He searched Harry's green eyes. "Really?"

"Yeah," Harry sighed, running another hand through his hair. "I do. They wouldn't just put that on their own so easily. You really would have had to prove you weren't loyal to the cause anymore."

Draco nodded, remembering that day so vividly, but deciding to push it away for now; he'd probably see it in his dreams later anyway. He cleared his throat scratchily, having been ready to beg and plead to let him stay there.

"Were… Granger and Bones close, then?"

Harry put his wand down, setting it back down on the table. "Susan had killed a Death Eater that had attacked Hermione during the War. He… had cornered her while everyone else was busy fighting, and… she had been trapped there. Susan found her and killed the Death Eater, thus… saving Hermione from any… further pain."

Draco's brows furrowed, not fully understanding how the scene had gone down but assumed that a Death Eater had simply cornered Hermione and was about to kill her, and Susan Bones had found them and killed him. He could see conflict in Harry's face; there was something else he was hiding, but he didn't say anything else.

Draco had so many questions, but he kept them locked inside himself. He had his past that wasn't proud of either, things he had done during the War, things he hadn't been proud of… questions he knew he wouldn't want to answer either, so he let them go.

It wasn't a matter of trust anymore; Draco had proven that Harry could trust him now. It was a matter of simple mutual respect not to ask personal questions about anything they had done during the War, at least not until their friendship could grow more.

"Look, Malfoy… while you're here, don't… push Hermione into talking too much, yeah? She's been through… a lot, and it messes with her sometimes. Just… let her be, okay?" He asked him in a tone that was suggestive, but firm.

Draco nodded. "Yeah, all right. Fine."

"Good. Make yourself at home, then, I suppose. I'm just going to go upstairs and make sure she's all right," Harry explained before he threw out the newspaper and headed up the stairs, leaving Draco alone in the kitchen with his thoughts.

Draco went back to his coffee, and then poured himself a second cup before sitting down again and nursed it in his hands. He was feeling strange, foreign feelings for Harry that he hadn't felt before. Even when he had been in danger of being thrown outside, he found that he was scared that he'd never be able to see Harry again.

This wasn't love.

He wasn't what this was exactly, but he felt the urge to explore it further, but then he remembered that Harry was with Hermione, and he felt nauseous and ashamed with himself all over again.


	4. family

**Chapter 4**

**. . .**

The next few days felt like a trial for Draco, still feeling the need to prove he wasn't on his father's side but his own. Unfortunately, this involved walking on eggshells around both his hosts, which just made Draco even more uneasy and anxious than he already was.

He found it nearly impossible to sleep, and when he found his nights sleepless, he wandered around the house before he slid down the wall by Harry's room around 3am and finally found he was able to sleep for a few hours. It wasn't much, but it was something, at least.

It was nearly 7 in the morning when Draco felt a gentle nudge and woke up to see Harry kneeling in front of him, a habit that he had begun to do every morning now since the blonde arrived here. Draco gave a sudden jolt, the nudge clashing with his dream.

"Hey… come on. Let's get some coffee, Malfoy," Harry suggested gently. Draco nodded and let him lead them downstairs to start the coffee.

Draco hugged the blanket around him tighter, feeling the chill in the air from the fire burned down to just a bed of hot ash. He sat down at the table, waiting patiently for the coffee to finish brewing.

Harry hurried over to the fireplace in the living room and placed a few pieces of wood inside before walking back over and grabbing three mugs out of the cupboard. He glanced over at Draco, eyeing the bags under his eyes uneasily.

He cleared his throat. "I… have trouble sleeping too."

"Oh," the blonde replied, unsure what the right thing to say was. He didn't know why he was feeling so nervous right now; it was just Potter. He felt some kind of wall up between them, but he wasn't sure how to knock it down.

Neither of them said anything else until the coffee was done brewing and Harry poured some in all three cups, adding sugar to Draco's as well as his own, but leaving the third cup black. He handed Draco's cup of coffee to him and leaned against the counter as he drank his own.

"Good morning, boys," Hermione announced somewhat cheerfully as she sauntered inside the kitchen and took her coffee before she sat down in the chair and brought her one leg up against her body as she took a sip. "You both look like you haven't slept a wink."

Harry chuckled lowly and shrugged. "The usual amount, I suppose. Too many… bloody nightmares." He gave Hermione a weak smile and she returned it with an encouraging one.

"I really think we should try a sleeping draught, Harry," she spoke in a tone that told Draco this wasn't the first time she had brought this subject up to him. "I really believe it will help you –ʺ

"No," Harry said firmly, shaking his head, glancing at Draco with almost an embarrassed expression before he looked back at her. "I told you, I don't want to take anything magical like that."

Draco raised an eyebrow and looked between them. "Why not? It's just a draught, Potter. Don't you want to sleep? You still live in a magical world. It makes sense to use magical remedies."

Hermione looked over at Draco neutrally before looking back over at Harry, her eyes touched with concern. "I know that magic isn't the cure-all; you know how I grew up, well, both of you know… but I really believe in this case it would help you, Harry. I promise I know how to brew it, and it wouldn't take too long! Just… let me do this for you. Maybe I can even make one for Draco! It looks like he's having difficulty sleeping as well."

Draco and Harry glanced at each other before the blonde shrugged. He had gained respect for Hermione through the years, even if he had bullied her as well. He had liked how she had fought back against him; she was strong, resilient.

Harry sighed shakily before he sipped more of his coffee and looked back at Hermione. "All right, but… just this once, and if I sleep too long, I want you to wake me up, Hermione."

Draco didn't understand why Harry was so averse to using a sleeping draught for his insomnia. If he was any good at potions, then he would consider brewing it for himself. He wished he had the knowledge and skillset to do so months ago when his nightmares had started.

She nodded and smiled. "Of course I will, Harry. Don't worry… I've made them before for myself in school. I'll go start the draughts right now so they're ready in time."

The boys watched as she hurried upstairs, leaving both of them to their own devices. Draco rubbed his eyes unsurely, feeling nervous but when he looked over at Harry, he was surprised to see Harry looking possibly even more anxious than him.

"How come you're so… anti-magic all of a sudden? I mean, why not take something that would help you? You couldn't stop using magic in school, as I recall."

Harry shot him a cold look now, and Draco knew he screwed up. "I might let you stay here, Malfoy, but don't think I owe you anything, ever. Not all of us came out of the War smelling like roses, yeah? If you don't like secrets, then you can just walk out of here anytime you want."

With that, Harry stood up and took his coffee with him upstairs, leaving Draco alone in the kitchen. The blonde angrily hit his side of the table with an open hand, clenching his jaw. He wasn't furious at Harry's answer though; he was furious with himself. He knew that things weren't perfect with either Harry or Hermione, and a part of him knew better than to ask questions, but the part of him that was still stuck in sixth year at Hogwarts had to come out to play and have a go at him.

He took a deep breath and finished his coffee before he also went upstairs, looking for Harry to apologize; he knew better, and he knew damn well he shouldn't have acted so juvenile. He peaked inside his bedroom but didn't see him. He did, however, hear the shower going.

Draco walked further on down the hallway and noticed a library he had missed before. He looked inside, seeing a flickering light coming from inside and glanced around.

Then he saw Hermione kneeling near the fireplace with two books spread out in front of her, along with a small cauldron and several beakers. He took a breath and quietly walked deeper inside, trying not to disturb her.

"Don't take it personally, Draco," she spoke softly, but didn't turn around.

He cleared his throat distractedly. "Sorry?"

"This place has thin walls. I could hear him scolding you from up here. Don't take what he says personally, though; I've learned not to. He's been through a lot, and I understand why he doesn't like the idea of this sleeping draught," Hermione explained neutrally as she dropped four sprigs of bright purple lavender into a mortar nearby.

Draco moved closer before he sat down nearby, feeling the heat from the fire but sat where he could watch her work. "Oh yeah? Do you care to explain it to me, then?"

"No," she said simply, adding two blobs of flobberworm mucus to the cauldron. She looked up at him from where she was working and rubbed the skin above her brow. "If you really care, then you need to let him trust you in his own time. You've done a lot of very… unsavory things when we were in school, Draco… he needs to remember the good you've done, though, and work through everything."

Hermione's words made sense to Draco and he nodded in understanding. He had to prove to Harry that he wasn't the same bastard he was in school, that he had, in fact, changed. He looked down at his hands and sighed softly.

"Is there a chance this draught won't work?" He asked, merely curious. It would be nice to get a good night's sleep for once, but he also knew that not all potions worked the same on everyone. That was one thing he had learned in school that stuck with him.

She poured the lavender into the cauldron and heated it up. "There… is a slight possibility of it not helping," she admitted before she waved her wand and then turned towards Draco before she crossed her ankles and stood up. "It's slim, though. Sleeping draughts are pretty standard magic, really."

"Good," Draco nodded, feeling relieved. "It would be nice to be able to sleep without nightmares or… actually, to be able to sleep, period. Do you have trouble sleeping at all, Granger?"

He didn't miss how she seemed to flinch at him using her surname. "Sometimes, but… I've gotten a lot better at sleeping at night. I used to be afraid to sleep, right after the War. Harry helped me with that, though."

Draco didn't want to be too noisy and ask her what she meant by that; she'd tell him in her own time and he didn't want to make the same mistake with her as he had made with Harry earlier. He just nodded and bit his lip, hearing the shower turn off.

He glanced towards the door before looking back at the cauldron. "Now what?"

She walked over to him and held out a hand to help him up. "We need to wait about half an hour, and then I need to turn the temperature up high and add some Valerian sprigs to it. It'll be done in time before you both go to bed later. Usually I get sidetracked when I make draughts or potions, and it ends up taking me several hours. I get carried away, looking up side effects, the history of the potion, so on and so forth."

Draco took her hand and followed her out of the library. She let her drop her hand from his before she slipped into the bedroom just as Harry came out, a towel wrapped around his waist, his skin still glistening.

He stopped still, surprised to have been caught by Draco, but he looked a bit calmer now and he stood there, looking at Draco expectantly. "Everything all right?" He glanced behind him at the closed bathroom door, as if he was making sure that Draco hadn't made Hermione cry.

The blonde nodded. "Umm… I just… want to apologize, about earlier, downstairs. I shouldn't have been an arse and gotten nosy. It's your business, and… I have no right to ask you anything you don't want to answer."

The apology made Harry chuckle slightly and then he motioned for the other man to follow him into his bedroom before closing the door. To Draco's surprise, he dropped his towel and started to get dressed, not having expected Harry to be so comfortable with Draco seeing him naked.

He politely adverted his eyes and cleared his throat distractedly, but Harry was the one to speak again.

"You can ask all the questions you want, Malfoy. I'm just not making any guarantees that I'll actually answer any of them," Harry put on boxers before turning around to look at him. "You have to answer all of my questions though, being a guest in my flat,"

Draco looked back at him when he saw that he at least had underwear on now and forced himself to make eye contact with him. He chewed on his bottom lip, not entirely comfortable with this rule, but not wanting to push his luck either. He gave a small nod.

"What were you talking about with Hermione?" Harry asked now, almost protectively.

Draco tensed up a bit but shrugged. "I was just asking questions about the potion she was brewing," he half lied, deciding it was best not to tell him about the other half of what they had talked about. "I wanted to know if there was a chance of it not working."

Harry nodded now, searching Draco's grey eyes before he pulled on pants and then a Quidditch team shirt. The two men were quiet for a bit before the blonde watched Harry run a hand through his damp hair.

"Hermione's ace at potions. Whatever she brews, I know that she did her best and it'll most likely do its job," he replied.

Draco searched his face now, wondering if that was supposed to be Harry reassuring him. The thought made his skin tingle strangely, maybe at the prospect of Harry actually caring about him. He nodded.

"I know. I mean… she's always been good at potions at school. I'm sure it'll work," he looked down, hesitant to make eye contact with Harry. "What if…" he started, but then stopped himself, afraid to ask him anything else.

Draco took a casual step closer before he looked at Draco with interest. "No, what is it? What if, what, Malfoy?" He asked gently, encouragingly.

Harry's calm demeanor now made Draco calm in turn and he felt brave enough to speak some more. He met the other man's green eyes with apprehensive in his own. "What if… I'm stuck in a nightmare that I can't get out of, because the draught put me in such a deep sleep? What if… I'm trapped?"

Fear flashed in his eyes, but only for a brief moment. "I don't think we have to worry about that, to be honest. It probably puts us in such a deep sleep that won't even know we're dreaming."

Draco nodded but still looked unsure. He swallowed hard, starting to feel more nervous about taking this potion. It wasn't that Harry wasn't reassuring; it was that Draco's anxiety kept continuously making up 'what-if' worst-case scenarios in his head.

Harry seemed to see Draco's uncertainty about this and ran another hand through his hair. "Hey, umm… if you want, you can… take the potion in my room and in case you do have a nightmare, or… if I have one, then we can… wake each other up, yeah? Does that make sense?"

Draco could see that he was having difficulty attempting to be sympathetic towards him, but the fact that he was made his heart skip a beat inside his cold chest. He nodded. "Y-Yeah, it does… make sense, I mean. If you don't mind, I think I'd appreciate it."

"Right, well… good. Then we'll take it together, then," Harry said with finality. "Come on, it still won't be done for at least another hour. I want to show you something."

Draco followed Harry out of the bedroom into a room off of the library, but it looked more like a storage room than anything else. Everything was either in boxes or up against the walls, covered with sheets. He followed Harry over to a large rectangular shape and saw Harry rip the sheet off of it.

He felt his stomach turn uncomfortably; it was the Black Family tapestry tree that had been inside Grimmauld Place. He looked at all the names that were stitched with gold thread, seeing several burned off faces, but then felt like he might throw up when he saw his parents' names as well as his own. He knew that he was there too, but it was odd seeing his name on something that Harry decided to keep in his flat.

"Why are you showing me this?" Draco asked quietly, taking a shaky breath. "Why do you have this?"

Harry shrugged at first before looked at him. "This is my family too, not just yours. I think… we forget that sometimes. Sirius was just my godfather but… he was more of a father to me than I ever knew. I saw him as one."

Draco nodded and ran a hand over his face before he felt tears well in his eyes. He looked around and rummaged inside of a box before he found a black marker and took it before he crossed out Narcissa's name, adding a year of death underneath it.

Harry watched him do it and was quiet until Draco was done. "What happened to her?"

He took another shaky breath and shook his head before rubbing his eyes roughly. "I'll answer any question you want, but just please don't make me answer that one," his tone pleading.

Harry nodded reluctantly before he put the sheet back over the tapestry again. "Are you hungry? I can make us some lunch."

Draco shook his head now, walking out of the room, wishing he had never seen that damned tapestry. "No, I'm not hungry. I'm just going to… rest downstairs until dinner."

He started towards the stairs but felt Harry's hand on his arm and he shivered, wincing slightly. Harry let go of him but didn't break eye contact. "Hey, I just… want to not want us to be enemies while you're here, all right? I mean… I know our families have both done things we're not proud of, but… you can talk to me about things."

Draco searched his eyes and saw only sincerity in them. He felt warmth fill up the cold spot in his chest now and he nodded. "R-Right, okay. I'll keep it in mind."

When Harry nodded, Draco took this opportunity to go downstairs, collapsing on the made up couch before placing the blankets on him. He didn't go to sleep, but his eyes hurt. He closed them, and just listened to the crackling of the fire, finally letting the tears run down his face freely.


	5. cheers

**. . .**

Draco didn't fall asleep but mostly just kept to himself for several hours, trying to stay out of everyone's way. When he finally decided to sit up, he saw Harry handing him a cup of tea.

"O-Oh, cheers," Draco thanked him, taking the cup gratefully. He held it in his hands; it felt oddly soothing.

"Sure, no problem. Did you get any sleep?" He remained standing but moved closer to Draco with a cup of tea in his own hands.

The blonde shook his head and cleared his throat, not used to talking to anyone as much as he had since he arrived here. "I try not to sleep during the day, if I can help it. I wouldn't get any sleep at night. Did Hermione finish the draughts?"

"Oh, yeah. They're done, I believe. She said they're bottled for us in the library and we can help ourselves when we're ready. I'm about to make some dinner. Do you… want to help me, Malfoy?" Harry took a sip from his mug, searching Draco's face.

He wasn't sure if this was a test or not. It could be a test to see how much Draco had changed during those long months of the War. Maybe it was to see if Draco was going to be a smart-arse to Harry and prove to the Hero that he was still the same Malfoy he had been in school. Either way, Draco didn't have a good reason to say no.

He stood up and nodded. "Yeah, all right, Potter. Lead the way. What are we making?"

Harry smirked to himself before he led Draco into the kitchen and started to pull out pots and pans. He then opened up the cupboard just as a box fell out and landed hard on the counter. Draco's jaw dropped, seeing no less than ten boxes of pasta inside the cupboard, causing him to chuckle.

"Seems like someone has a craving," he teased. "I didn't realize you two were hardcore pasta fans."

Harry gave a weak smile but didn't join in laughing. He rubbed the back of his neck. "When she was going through a pretty tough time right after the War, it was difficult to get her to eat, so… I tried to get creative, and through several trials, I found out that she likes pasta with cheese sauce, so I made it for her whenever she refused to eat. It was the literally the only thing she would eat, so I like to keep it stocked, for her bad days."

Draco felt a bit embarrassed for laughing earlier and felt his heart sinking into the pit of his stomach. "Shit… I-I'm sorry. I didn't realize. I wasn't thinking –ʺ

Harry shrugged but placed a gentle hand on Draco's shoulder on his way towards the fridge to grab the butter. "It's fine, Malfoy, really. Don't worry about it," Draco nodded in acknowledgement but still felt like a complete wanker until Harry spoke again. "Does chicken and veggies sound all right for tonight?"

The blonde relaxed slightly, nodding. "Y-Yeah… yeah. That sounds good."

"Brilliant," Harry grabbed a package of chicken from the freezer and set it on the counter before he grabbed his wand and said a spell to defrost it instantly. Draco watched him cut up the chicken and start to cook it in the pan, opting to remain quiet.

The only sound in the kitchen was the sound of a sizzling frying pan as Harry cooked and the shuffle of things as he took the veggies out to start them in another pan. Suddenly, the other man's voice cut through the silence so sharply that it startled Draco.

"Hey, Malfoy… do you want to keep an eye on this while I add some things to the chicken?"

The offer almost took him by surprise but then Draco remembered that Harry had asked him to help him with the dinner. He cleared his throat casually but nodded and quickly made his way over to the pan of veggies.

"This may come as a surprise, Potter, but I don't really know how to cook," Draco confessed.

Harry let out a chuckle and handed him a wooden spoon. "It's fine. Just… stir it once in a while and don't let anything burn. It's really not too difficult."

Draco nodded and started to do as he was told as he glanced over and watched Harry cook. "Did you use to cook when you were with your Aunt and Uncle? You appear to be relatively knowledgeable about it."

Harry scoffed. "Only against my will. I really didn't know how to cook until Hermione and I moved in together. It was basically trial and error, to be honest. She would let me know when something didn't taste good, so that helped. Did your mother never teach you how to cook?"

Draco let out a sudden laugh, but it came out of his mouth with an odd sound. He got himself under control and shook his head. "She wasn't one for making homecooked meals. We had a house-elves in the Manor, similar to how they were at school. They mostly cooked for us."

Harry smirked. "Don't tell Hermione you had house-elves. We'll never hear the end of it. She'll ask you twenty questions to make sure that they had proper rights. I guess I'm not surprised you had them to cook for you, what with you having a silver spoon in your mouth since the day you were born and all…"

Draco kept his eyes down on the pan as he clenched his jaw in irritation. "We might have been wealthy, Potter, but we're not anymore. You speak with quite the jealousy; didn't you have a few million Galleons in your Gringotts vault as well?"

Harry shrugged. "I wouldn't say I have that much, Draco, but I suppose I still have a decent amount still in there."

Draco glanced over at him now, his anger gone. "You have money, but you and Hermione are living in this shithole of a flat?"

Harry didn't look at him as he cooked the chicken, flipping the pieces over in the pan. "Sort of defeats the whole purpose of keeping a low profile if we get a nicer flat, doesn't it? It's safer just to lay low and deal with it. Anyway, this place isn't _that_ bad. It's still homey, and Hermione likes it here. She feels safe, which is important to me. For the record, this is the only place where I feel safe nowadays."

Draco listened to him talk. He didn't even mind his rambling; in fact, it fascinated him. Draco didn't think he heard Harry open up to him so much since he got here. He ran a hand through his hair.

"I suppose I can't blame you. As of lately, this is the only place where I've felt remotely safe as well," Draco agreed congenially.

Harry gave a kind nod to him and a small smile before he grabbed three plates out and started to dish everything up for everyone. By the time food was on the table, Draco's stomach gave a rumble of anticipation.

"Sit," Harry kindly instructed.

Draco nodded and obediently pulled out a chair out for himself at the end so Harry and Hermione could sit beside each other. "Does she normally… do her own thing during the day, or is it just because I'm here?"

Harry sat down next to Draco and poured himself some water. "She does her own thing a lot of the time. We hang out on holidays, though, and occasionally go to the Three Broomsticks for a drink and hang out. Besides Honeydukes, it's one of the only other places she enjoys going to."

"So much for safety," Draco whispered as footsteps creaked on the stairs. "The whole village is out in the open. Any Death Eater could attack either of you there…"

Harry made a throat slashing gesture with his hand now to silence Draco as Hermione entered the kitchen. Draco got the hint and started to eat.

"Mmm… something smells great," she smiled at Harry. "Thank you." She sat down at the table opposite of Draco and started to eat hungrily.

"Sure thing," Harry also started to eat and smiled back at Hermione.

"Oh, Draco," she spoke after she chewed and swallowed. "Your draught is all ready whenever you both are ready to go to sleep."

Draco gave her a polite smile and nodded gratefully. "Right, Harry me that. Thanks again, for brewing it for us. You didn't have to do that, especially for me."

A sadness touched Hermione's brown eyes as she continued eating. "It really wasn't a problem, Draco. Anyway, you helped Harry with dinner, so we're even."

Draco nodded, smirking. The three of them ate in an oddly comfortable silence until they had finished their meals and by that time, Draco looked over to see both their plates empty, but both of them leaning back in their chairs, Hermione glancing over at Harry with a hesitant expression in her eyes, almost childlike.

It didn't go unnoticed.

Harry looked over at Draco. "We have a little tradition nowadays after dinner here, Malfoy. We have a nightcap and we either say something we're grateful for, or something or someone that we miss, but we raise a toast after, so… would you care to partake?"

Draco felt like he was intruding, intruding in their private lives with their private traditions, and he almost felt embarrassed, but he decided to join them. He wanted to be a part of something. He wanted to have friends, and a family, and people who cared about him. He didn't want to be the man he was before; he wanted to be better than that boy from school.

He nodded. "Yeah, if you don't mind…?"

Hermione smiled warmly. "Of course not, Draco. Please join us in toasting."

Draco glanced over at Harry who was now collecting the plates and setting them in the sink before he grabbed three short glasses and filled them a quarter full with firewhiskey. He walked back to the table and set a glass in front of each of them. He sat down in the middle.

"Who wants to go first?"

"I will!" Hermione offered quickly, winking at Draco. "I am grateful for… new friends," she replied thoughtfully, looking across the table at him.

Harry also looked over at Draco and he smirked before clearing his throat and raising his glass. "I'm grateful for old ones," he replied, looking back over at Hermione who smiled brightly and also raised her glass in agreement.

Then both of them turned to look at him.

"What about you, Draco?" Harry asked softly. "What are you grateful for?"

He thought for a short time before he raised his glass. "I'm grateful for… a roof over my head, four walls, and kind people." A part of him felt like it had come out cheesy, but the answer was genuine, straight from his heart, and it made both Harry and Hermione nod and reach over to clink their glasses with his.

"Cheers," Harry spoke.

"Cheers," Draco and Hermione echoed simultaneously.

They all knocked them back and let the alcohol burn their throats before they set their glasses down again. Harry grabbed the bottle of whiskey and started to fill their glasses up about halfway now before Hermione started to shake her head.

"Harry, no…. no more whiskey," she half-laughed, half whimpered.

"Last one," he promised, holding a hand palm out. "I promise. This one is to… the people we've lost, in memoriam. To lost friends."

Hermione looked a bit sad now, but so did Harry. Draco didn't feel like he actually had any real friends that he lost. They had all turned on him or gotten killed because they were idiots. Instead, he thought about his mother and took the half filled glass in his hand and raised it again. The three of them clinked silently, not saying anything this time before they all drank the harsh liquid as fast as they could, possibly to numb their growing sadness.

"Right, well… with that, I think it's time we called it a night, yeah?" Harry looked over at Hemione who nodded, wiping her mouth quickly. "Draco, let's go grab our draughts and head off."

Draco nodded. "Yeah, all right." He stood up and pushed his chair in before letting Hermione head on upstairs to her room first, and letting Harry lead the two of them upstairs and into the library.

Harry grabbed the two small vials of sleeping draught and then led Draco into his room before closing the door behind him. As soon as Draco was absolutely alone with Harry, he felt an odd sensation deep within him; this felt weird, yet comfortable at the same time, and Draco didn't know how that was possible.

"Okay, here you go, Malfoy," he handed Draco a vial.

"Will it still work after drinking the whiskey? I mean, is it going to have any side effects?"

"No," Harry shook his head. "Hermione would've told us not to have any alcohol if there was, or at least warned us ahead of time. She's good like that."

Draco took his vial and uncorked it for inhaling. It smelled like lavender.

Harry also uncorked his and swallowed the potion before watching Draco do the same with his. "So… you can either lay on the floor or… share the bed with me. It's up to you." He eyed the blonde almost cautiously, as if he didn't trust him to be so close to him.

Perhaps Draco felt the same too. Sure Harry had let him into his home, let him eat his food, and shared a toast with him, but they still had a not so savory history together.

Draco already felt sleepy as the draught began to take effect, causing him to yawn. "I'll just… lay down here, I think."

"All right." Harry quickly threw a pillow down on the floor before he grabbed several blankets and gave them to Draco before he crawled into bed.

Draco didn't know how long it had taken, but it was not long at all as his eyelids felt too heavy to keep open, so he closed them and then held the blankets close to his body as he fell into a deep sleep.


End file.
